Tag: Logical Methods

Topics

Major Works

  • Plato’s Laws

    - Parens, Joshua and Joseph Macfarland, "Plato's Laws," in Medieval Political Philosophy: A Sourcebook. Cornell University Press, Ithica, NY, 2011.
    Excerpt from Alfarabi’s introduction: “Our purpose in making this introduction is this: the wise Plato did not feel free to reveal and uncover every kind of knowledge for all people. Therefore he followed the practice of using symbols, riddles,… More

  • Philosophy of Aristotle

    - Philosophy of Plato and Aristotle. Trans. Muhsin Mahdi. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1962.
    Excerpt: “1. Aristotle sees the perfection of man as Plato sees it and more. However, because man’s perfection is not self-evident or easy to explain by a demonstration leading to certainty, he saw fit to start from a position anterior to that… More

  • Commentary and Short Treatise on Aristotle’s De Interpretatione

    - Alfarabi’s Commentary and Short Treatise on Aristotle’s De Interpretatione. Trans. F.W. Zimmerman. London: Oxford University Press, 1981.
    Book Review: “This book represents a comprehensive study of Alfarabi’s expositions of Aristotle’s logical treatise, the De Interpretatione. It includes a substantial Introduction, a translation of Alfarabi’s lengthy commentary and his… More

  • Book of Demonstration

    - Classical Arabic Philosophy: An Anthology of Sources. Trans. Jon McGinnis and David C. Reisman. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Co. Inc., 2007.
    Excerpt: “1. Perfect assent is certainty. Perfect conceptualization is to conceptualize something by means of a concise account of what it is in a manner proper to it, because conceptualizing something by means of what signifies it is to define the… More

  • The Book of Letters

    - Medieval Islamic Philosophical Writings. Ed. Muhammad Ali Khalidi. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005.
    Excerpt: “The capacities for dialectic, sophistry, and for the uncertain or dubious philosophy must precede the capacity for the certain philosophy, which is demonstrative philosophy, since one becomes aware of demonstrations after these others (i.e.… More

  • Enumeration of the Sciences

    - Alfarabi: The Political Writings. Trans. Charles Butterworth. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2001.
    Excerpt: “1. Political science investigates the sorts of voluntary actions and ways of life; the dispositions, moral habits, inclination, and states of character from which those actions and ways of ife come about; the goals for the sake of which they… More

Other Works

  • Utterances Used in Logic

    - Al Farabi. Utterances Used in Logic. Trans. Angela Jaffray, “At the Threshold of Philosophy: A Study of al-Fārābī’s Introductory Works on Logic” (PhD diss., Harvard University, 2000), pp. 431-517.

  • Eisagōgē

    - Classical Arabic Philosophy: An Anthology of Sources. Trans. Jon McGinnis and David C. Reisman. Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing Co. Inc., 2007. pp 54-140.
    Excerpt from Introduction: “Our aim in this book is to enumerate the things from which proposition are composed and into which they are divided, that is, each one of the parts of the premises used generally in all of the syllogistic disciplines. So we… More

  • Directing the Attention to the Way to Happiness

    - Medieval Political Philosophy: A Sourcebook. 2nd. Edition. Eds. Joshua Parens and Joseph C. MacFarland. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2011. pp. 13-53.
    Excerpt: “1. The human things through which nations and citizens of cities attain earthly happiness in this life and supreme happiness in the life beyond are of four kinds: theoretical virtues, deliberative virtues, moral virtues, and practical arts. 2.… More

  • Article on Vacuum

    - Fārābī’s Article on Vacuum. Ed. and Trans. Necati Lugal and Aydin Sayili. Ankara: Turk Tarih Kurumu Basimevi, 1951.

Commentary

  • Language and Logic in Classical Islam

    - Mahdi, Muhsin. “Language and Logic in Classical Islam” in Logic in Classical Islamic Culture. Ed. G.E. von Grunebaum, Wiesbden, Germany: 1970, pp. 51-83.
    Overview: An excellent summary of a live debate over the importance of Greek language and logic in the Islamic world that is said to have shaped Alfarabi’s own views on the subject.

  • Galen’s Synopsis of Plato’s Laws and Fārābī’s Talhīs

    - Gutas, Dimitri. "Galen's Synopsis of Plato's Laws and Farabi's Talhis." In The Ancient Tradition in Christian and Islamic Hellenism. Eds. Gerhard Endress and Remke Kruk. Leiden: Research School CNSW, 1997.
    Overview: Argues that Alfarabi had access to Plato’s Laws only through a lost commentary by Galen, a fact that explains many of the peculiarities of his summary.

  • Aristotelian Logic and the Arabic Language in Alfarabi

    - Alon, Ilai. Al-Fārābi’s Philosophical Lexicon. Wiltshire, England: Aris & Phillips Ltd. 2002.
    Description: A competent study of one of the central themes in Alfarabi: the relationship between language and logic. Excerpt (from introduction): “Medieval Islamic scholars widely referred to Aristotle as the ‘First Teacher,’ evidence of… More

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